THE Home Office was criticised yesterday for its action plan tackling “transgender” issues.

The plan came just a day after the Government admitted it is powerless to stop illegal migrants exploiting a loophole to enter Britain by railway.

The new strategy is aimed at addressing problems faced by “transgender” people, including those who have had or are having sex changes and others who feel they have no particular gender or are uncertain.

Published by Lib Dem Home Office and Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone, it includes doubling to 30 years the minimum sentence for murders motivated by prejudice against transgender people.

John Midgley, co-founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said: “All murders are atrocious, regardless of their motive and I think many people would like the sentencing starting point to be at least 30 years in prison but not just for those where there is a transgender victim.

I also think people would prefer it if the Government focused our limited resources on all people – regardless of their sex, ethnicity, sexuality

John Midgley, co-founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness

“I also think people would prefer it if the Government focused our limited resources on all people – regardless of their sex, ethnicity, sexuality – and not on action plans which can sometimes unwittingly do more harm than good to the very groups they seek to help.”

The railway loophole was admitted by Immigration Minister Damian Green who said the Government was powerless to act when illegal immigrants entered the country by train.

Mr Green said the so-called “Lille loophole”, in which passengers miss key border checks by buying a train ticket from Brussels to Lille but then stay on until London, could only be closed through negotiations with European countries.

Of the action plan published yesterday, Ms Featherstone insisted she was proud to present the strategy.

“Too many transgender people still face prejudice at every stage of their lives, from playground bullying to being overlooked for jobs or targeted for crime,’’ she said. “Like everyone else, transgender people have the right to be accepted, to live their lives free of harassment, and to be free to achieve any ambition they choose.’’

The document notes that 70 per cent of children who are uncertain of their gender suffer bullying.

Eighty-eight per cent of transgender workers experience workplace discrimination or harassment, while “hate crimes’’ against such people rose in official figures by 14 per cent to 357 last year.

Key proposals include raising the minimum sentence for murders motivated by hostility towards a transgender person from 15 to 30 years, in line with killings based on the victim’s race, religion or sexual orientation.

Murders motivated by disability will also attract a 30-year minimum, Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke announced separately.

Other proposals in yesterday’s action plan include new guidance for schools, employers, job centres and doctors about the issues transgender people face.

The document also confirmed earlier reports of a review into how passports should identify gender, to safeguard transgender people’s privacy.

April Ashley, who in 1960 became the first Briton to have sex-change surgery, welcomed the plan. “It shows we’re moving forward to breaking down barriers and educating people,’’ she said. The number of “gender realignments’’ is increasing at about 15 per cent a year, with around 1,200 now carried out annually.

The Home Office estimates there are some 3,000 people in Britain who have made it known they feel they were born into the wrong sex.

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